Starry Skies and Hot Guys
by ProbsNotPerfect
Summary: On their way to Earth, the team stops on a tropical planet for a much needed break. Keith finds himself checking out Shiro, and Lance catches him in the act. Keith is obviously embarrassed, but Lance is surprisingly nonchalant about it, even admitting that he totally understands. What starts as some innocent ogling will lead the pair closer than they ever imagined. Klance
1. Caught in the Act

**Been awhile since my last effort at writing for this show. Hope I've improved since then. Enjoy!**

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It was difficult for Keith to feel the same excitement about returning to Earth as the other paladins. They all had families to return to. They all had a place on the blue rock they could call home. He had an empty shack occupied only by memories of sad and lonely times. His mother, who he'd only recently got to know, had to leave him once again for the greater good. He accepted this and respected her decision, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss her. His father had long since passed away, and that was the extent of the family that was known to him.

Over time, he had come to think of the paladins and Blade of Marmora as his family. However, the blades were no longer with him, nor was his only tie to them. And seeing the other paladins so eager to return to their _real_ families wasn't making him feel any better.

"Has it been a year yet?"

"Even if it had been, we still wouldn't be there, Lance." You could hear the eye roll in Pidge's voice.

"I'm just so _bored!_ My brain is going to fossilize before we even get there."

"Your brain would have to be dead first, Lance." Hunk sounded cheerful despite the long journey ahead of them.

Keith's less than joyful mood didn't stop him from adding: "Well, then he's on the right track."

"HEY! Don't be upset with me just because by the time we get to Earth, your emo haircut will be about a decade out of style."

Shiro sighed, forever their leader even without a lion. "Alright you two. Bickering isn't going to make us get there any faster."

"Shiro's right. Why don't we find a more constructive way to pass the time?" Allura wracked her brain for something that wouldn't cause an argument. This was difficult. Tensions were high as they essentially drifted through space towards a very distant destination. They all spoke so highly of their home that even she was getting impatient to see it. _Of course, that's it!_

"Why don't you tell us more about Earth? Coran and I have heard some of your stories, but we've never had time to discuss it at length. And Romelle hasn't heard anything at all."

"I'm glad you asked, princess. Allow me to fill you in on the best planet in the Milky Way." Lance's flirtatious smile resonated through the comm.

"…Milky…Way?"

Keith tuned out the laughter and talk of Earth to return to his sulking. Even aliens who had never been anywhere near the planet were more eager to get there than he was. He'd never say it aloud, but part of him wished he would have gone with his mother and left the black lion to whoever could handle it. It would have been an extremely selfish move, and the second time he'd abandoned Voltron completely. He wasn't proud of these thoughts. That's why he kept them to himself.

Wolf sat in the cockpit behind him, grooming himself. He'd outright refused to let the other paladins name him Kosmo. It was _his_ pet after all. Or rather, his _friend._ He'd been much too helpful and loyal to be considered just a pet. Keith left his seat momentarily to scratch the space canine behind the ears. Maybe Wolf was part of his family. His mother had loved the beast just as much as he did. That counts for something.

Suddenly, Keith heard shouting behind him. Returning to his seat, he quickly prepared himself for the worst.

"What's wrong? Are we under attack?"

Collective laughter followed. Keith felt a little embarrassed.

Shiro filled him in. "Everything's fine. Pidge detected a planet nearby with an atmosphere similar to Earth's and we've decided to stop there for a short break."

Coran chimed in. "It will give the lions a much needed rest too. Not to mention I'm starting to feel my legs cramping up."

"Don't worry, Coran. That's normal for older Altean's. Have you ever had the slipperies?" Romelle's comment sounded innocent but had sent Coran into a dramatic spiel about how age is only a number, only causing more laughter at his expense.

As they changed their course towards their new destination, Keith felt a little more at ease. It would be nice to get out of the cockpit, and Wolf could probably use a good run. Hopefully he could find something on this new planet to throw for him.

Lance's voice broke him out of his positive thoughts. "We won't be there for long, right? Sitting around on some rock is only going to prolong the time before we get home!"

"It's a tropical planet. We'll be landing on a beach." The green paladin smirked.

"Well….I guess that's cool. But we-"

"Oh! I should be able to extract some bathing suits from the castle in its current state. We can all go for a swim!"

A few beats, and then a reply from Lance. "Are we there yet?"

Pidge and Hunk laughed and soon the aforementioned planet was in sight. As they descended, Keith could see that the green paladin had been correct. Sandy shores and miles of water everywhere the eye could see. A little vegetation was also visible, but not much in terms of animal life. Or any native intelligent species. A shame that such a nice place was uninhabited. Places like this on Earth were often overcrowded.

They brought their lions down and everyone piled out, taking in the fresh air that seemed very reminiscent of Earth. Keith watched as Wolf went to get a drink from the water. He turned to Pidge.

"Is the water safe?"

"Yep. Totally drinkable."

"And swimable! Allura, bring on the bathing suits!" Lance earned himself friendly eye rolls from the rest of the paladins (or maybe not in Keith's case) with his shameless pursuit of seeing the princess show some skin. She seemed a bit oblivious and obliged, taking the crystalized castle from Coran and closing her eyes to focus her energy.

Keith strayed away from the group to join Wolf at the waters edge, getting a drink for himself. Pidge had been right. The water tasted normal. Not that he'd had water from Earth in a while, but the water the castle of lions had provided was pretty similar. He stared off into the horizon, looking for any other landforms. All he saw were rolling waves and a blue sky. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought they had already arrived on Earth.

He almost didn't hear Shiro come up behind him, joining him at the shore with a smile. "Thinking about something?"

Keith almost felt guilty that he hadn't thought about Shiro when trying to piece together a family in his head. "Not really."

"Right." Shiro turned his attention to the horizon too. "You missing your mom?"

"Yeah."

"She'll be alright. She's tough, like you."

"I know."

The older man turned to him again, studying him. "Anything else?"

"I'm fine, Shiro."

He felt a hand on his shoulder, turning to meet Shiro's eyes for only a second. That look had always gotten him to tell the truth. Shiro had plenty of years to master it back at the Garrison.

"I just feel weird about going back to Earth. Everyone else has someone waiting for them there. I don't."

Shiro had to think for a moment on how to phrase his reply. He sighed. Keith wasn't exactly wrong.

"That doesn't matter. Just because you don't have any family on Earth doesn't mean you don't still belong there. All of us are your family too, and we aren't going to just abandon you once we get there. We have a mission there. And even if the others go off to visit with their families, I'll still be with you. And did you forget about the three Altean's with us?"

Trying to hide an obvious smirk, Keith imagined himself leading the three aliens through an Earth city, showing them how humans live. Shiro beamed, happy that he'd been successful in at least giving Keith something to smile about. The younger man nudged him with his shoulder.

"Sure you won't be spending time with someone else?"

Shiro's smiled faded, and Keith worried he'd said something he shouldn't have.

"Adam was very upset with me when I left for Kerberos. I'm sure after I was presumed dead for so long that he's moved on."

"Maybe, but I know he'll still be happy to see you. He actually came by to see me a few times after you disappeared."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Keith scratched the back of his neck, feeling guilty for not bringing this up sooner. "He knew how upset I was about it. After I dropped out, he found my shack. It was nice to talk with someone else who was close to you. He seemed to really miss you."

Letting that sink in, Shiro let his mind drift back to the good times he'd had with Adam. Even if they couldn't pick up where they left off, maybe he'd still be interested in seeing him again.

Coran ruined their moment, slapping his arms around the pair and startling them. "What're you two standing around for? Come get into your water suits and see who's the fastest swimmer!"

The Altean man tossed them both their suits, Keith having not seen it since the time he and Lance had gotten stuck in the elevator shaft. _Not_ the most pleasant memory. Coran had dragged Shiro away with talk of his supreme swimming technique, so Keith returned to his lion to change. Although he wouldn't say swimming was his favorite pastime, anything would be a nice change from piloting and fighting.

Slipping into the suit, he noticed how pale he was. Keith was never one to care about how he looked much, but they definitely hadn't had time for tanning at any point during the war. Pidge had mentioned something about this planet having multiple sun-like stars, so hopefully he wouldn't burn. Stepping back outside, he felt the hot sand on his feet. He looked to where Pidge and Hunk had started to build a sand castle, Romelle watching and looking curious as to why this was a human custom.

Coran had already begun to demonstrate his supposedly superior swimming technique. He dove in and out of the water like a dolphin, admittedly gaining a lot of speed. Allura cheered him on, and Keith realized he hadn't seen her with her hair down since she became a paladin. He could see why Lance liked her. She radiated beauty and joy.

The older Altean emerged from the water, taking a bow. "Alright, Shiro. Top that."

"I don't know if I can, especially with no prosthetic, but I'll try. Let me stretch first."

Keith stopped dead in his tracks. He'd been too distracted with other things to mentally prepare himself for seeing Shiro in a bathing suit. He looked away, then back again, shame engulfing him. He felt guilty doing things like this. When he'd been younger in the Garrison, he looked up to Shiro and appreciated all he did for him. Standing up for him and encouraging him to do better. But as he came of age in his early teens, he'd noticed that he wasn't interested in girls. And thus, being around Shiro had been… _difficult_.

It was no secret that Shiro was an attractive guy, but Keith had felt weird checking out someone who looked at him like a younger brother. Of course, his raging hormones hadn't made it easy to ignore, and he did catch himself looking from time to time. Luckily, he couldn't recall Shiro ever noticing it. Eventually his little crush faded away and he was able to appreciate Shiro for his guidance and friendship once more, only occasionally jealous of Shiro's blossoming relationship with Adam.

Now, seeing him in swim trunks and stretching his muscles was causing those hormones to flare up again. Keith allowed his eyes to trace down the older man's lethal jaw to his broad shoulders. His missing arm and plentiful scars took nothing away from his appearance. He wore it with pride. Keith continued downward to his amazing pecs and abs that would make any man squirm with jealousy (and in this case, delight). The real show stopper was revealed when Shiro turned away to face the water and bent down to touch his toes. Keith's shame reached new heights as he blatantly stared at his mentors perfectly sculpted rear end. He was sure his face was redder than any sunburn could ever make it. As embarrassing as it was to admit, he'd definitely checked out this beefy posterior at least once since they'd been in space. He couldn't help himself, and Shiro's choice of pants weren't the loosest.

Suddenly, Keith felt himself being sprayed with a cold substance. He let out a small shriek and turned to find a chortling Lance holding some sort of spray bottle.

"Pidge made this sun blocking serum for us to wear while we're here. Thought you'd probably want it, you looked like you needed to cool down."

Keith softened his glare, only slightly. "Thanks."

"So, whatcya looking at?"

"Nothing." He realized how guilty that sounded but crossed his arms as if annoyed with the question anyway.

Lance's sly smirk didn't bode well for him. "That didn't look like nothing to me." He followed where Keith had been staring and found Shiro doing his last stretches. "Checking out Shiro's goods, huh?"

"I was not!" His angry retort fell on deaf ears. Lance continued to smirk.

"That's just what someone caught in the act of ogling would say."

Knowing his face was still red and sufficiently embarrassed at this point, Keith turned away from his fellow paladin. "Just leave me alone."

The Cuban boy came to stand beside him. "Relax, Keith. I won't say anything. Not like anyone would blame you. He's quite the sight."

Keith glanced at him, expression softening a bit. Was Lance genuinely agreeing with him? He wasn't great at reading social cues, and Lance could very well have been joking.

"You won't tell?"

"Have I ever lied to you before?"

"You've definitely taken any chance to make fun of me."

"So have you!"

Keith crossed his arms again. Lance sighed and continued.

"I won't say anything. But like I said, I don't think it would matter anyway. It's not your fault he's hot. I mean, he's no Allura. But I definitely wouldn't mind cozying up to him either."

The black paladin couldn't believe Lance admitted that so casually. Was he the weird one for keeping thoughts like this to himself? "Really?"

"Totally."

Keith felt his embarrassment fade as he made himself comfortable with the fact that Lance had just discovered he was into guys, and didn't seem to care. Did Lance's comments mean anything about his own sexuality? Or was it just something he'd said in the moment? Keith turned his attention back to Shiro, who had swam out to a sandbar he hadn't noticed earlier. Coran and Allura were in pursuit. With his mood slightly better after his conversation with Shiro and now Lance, he turned to the latter and smiled.

"Race you to the sandbar?"

"You read my mind."

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 **Reviews follows and favorites are always appreciated. This story is also being posted on my AO3 account. Next chapter coming soon :)**


	2. Little Secret

**Wanted to update way sooner but my allergies have hit me like a truck. My life story would be called Itchy Eyes and Snot Slides. Anyway, info no one asked for aside, enjoy chapter 2!**

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The race to the sandbar ended in a draw. Obviously, neither one of them had swam in awhile and they greatly misjudged the distance from the shore. Keith was impressed that Shiro had made the trip so quickly, but then again, he hadn't even known about one arm swim techniques before today. He'd hardly been able to hear the older man explain it to him over his own heavy breathing. Combined with the panting of the collapsed Cuban boy beside him, and Shiro might as well been whispering it from the shore. He was interrupted anyway. Pidge and Hunk had finished their sandcastle. Romelle studied it with apparent distaste.

" _This_ is an Earth castle?"

"Hey!" Hunk was offended. "It's the best we could do."

"This pales in comparison to Altean architecture. I will demonstrate the proper way to build a castle by sculpting an Altean spire." She gazed out to the water. "Allura! Coran! Could you help me? I'm going to educate these two on Altean fortress structure!"

The Alteans in question abandoned their spot on the sandbar and were back on the shore in an unfairly short amount of time. Shiro hadn't cared that they'd left him midsentence. He could only imagine what it would be like to believe you are the only one of your race still alive and then discover someone else who shares your traits and history. He turned his attention to the breathless boys beside him.

"You two going to make it? What happened?"

"Mullet," Lance huffed, "Challenged me."

The older man laughed, smoothing out his wet hair. Keith stole glances at his dripping wet chest, mentally scolding himself for indulging in these supposedly forgotten habits. Thankfully, Lance was still laid out on his stomach and wouldn't catch him this time. They all sat in silence for a bit, enjoying the weather and listening to the sounds of the water. It was strange to hear the crashing of waves without the call of gulls in the background. As close as it may have looked, it would never be an earth beach without the winged scavengers.

The silence was broken by loud and snappy voices from the shore. All three men turned to see the group of Alteans bickering around a pile of misshapen sand. The other two paladins on the beached backed away slowly and tried to busy themselves with building a moat around their apparently lackluster castle. Always the mediator of conflict, Shiro slid back into the water.

"Don't try racing back until you've caught your breath. It's been a long time since I've had to perform CPR." And with that, he swam towards the shore as the yelling increased and the first handful of sand was thrown. Lance propped himself up to watch the fight. It was short lived, and the three Alteans were now working on their own individual spires away from each other. Neither boy was shocked when Shiro reached the shore and put an end to their pettiness by suggesting they bury him in the sand.

Lance broke the silence between them. "Kind of unfair huh? He's hot, and he's a pretty decent guy all around. Great leader. Great mentor. Everyone at the garrison was jealous of you."

"Were you?"

" _Tch._ Nah! I knew I could outfly you either way." Lance began drawing in the sand with his finger. Another thought occurred to him. "Did you have a crush on him back then, too?"

This earned him a hard shove, which he returned. "Hey! I was just asking!"

"You said you wouldn't say anything."

"I know! I'm not telling anyone else. I'm just talking to you!"

A stern expression filled Keith's face. "Well I don't want to talk about it."

Lance felt a little guilty, a feeling he detested. He hadn't meant to upset his fellow paladin. He should know by now that Keith isn't really a talker, especially about stuff like this. "Sorry. You don't have to answer me, but are you like, ashamed or something? There's nothing wrong with being gay."

Keith gave him a look, and he worried he'd made it worse. "Not that I'm saying you _are_ gay! I'm just saying it would be fine if you were. I'm bisexual, and very proud of it."

He watched as the sad little emo boy hugged his knees to his chest, resting his head on them as he did so. Why did everything he say dig himself a deeper hole? He scribbled out his sand drawing as if that would erase everything he'd just spouted out.

Keith sighed. "I'm not _ashamed_ of being gay. I just don't like talking about it. And I don't have a crush on Shiro. Not anymore." He looked back out to the shore. The man in question was buried with a smile and surrounded by laughing atleans and humans alike. "Adam was a lucky guy."

"He sure was. I bet every girl at the garrison burst into tears when they found out he was into dudes. Or maybe they liked him even more. Some girls are _totally_ into that."

Feeling a bit more comfortable having gotten so much off his chest, Keith let go of his legs and leaned back on his hands. "So, you play for both teams?"

"Ew. Do people really still say that? Never mind. I forgot who I was talking too." Another quick shoving match. "And yes, I do. If Allura had been a handsome prince instead of a beautiful princess, I'd still be trying to work my way into the royal family."

An involuntary chuckle escaped Keith's lips. Lance smirked and nudged him with his elbow. "See? Talking about this stuff is fun. Now tell me, what's your favorite feature on Mr. Takashi Shirogane? Is it the pulsating pectorals? The dreamy battle scar? The chiseled cheekbones? The _other_ chiseled cheeks?"

Keith fought back a smile. "Will you just drop it already."

"Come on. I'll tell you my favorite if you tell me yours."

"That's not really fair. You have no shame or dignity to lose."

"WOW. I think that's the rudest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"I've definitely said worse to you."

Lance poked the other boy's shoulder. "On the count of three, we both say it."

"I'm not going to-"

"One."

Lance fixed him with a serious look.

"Two."

Keith sighed, knowing he'd never hear the end of this.

"Three."

" _Ass."_ A simultaneous answer. Both boys felt the blood rush to their faces. Surprisingly, it was Keith who broke out laughing first. The other boy followed, failing to recall a time he'd ever heard Keith even use the word. The pair were almost as breathless as before.

Keith regained his composure first. "I swear, if you ever tell anyone I said that."

The other boy was still in stitches. "I really thought you were gonna say _personality_ or something stupid."

"I'm serious, Lance."

"Hey, we're both in the same boat here. It'll be our little secret."

The Cuban boy extended a pinky towards his thoroughly embarrassed companion. It took him a moment to catch on.

"What are we, five?"

"Just do it."

Reluctantly, he obliged and the pair locked pinkies. A shout from the shore stopped Keith from following the promise with a threat of some sort. "Hey! Who wants to get buried next?!"

Lance dove into the water, resurfacing and backstroking along the edge of the sandbar.

"Wanna race back?"

"No. You go ahead."

"Chicken. Afraid I'll win?"

"Afraid you'll drown."

"Like you'd even care." He dove back under the water and came up again, treading water. "Should I pretend to cramp up and have Shiro give me the kiss of life? Or would you get too jealous?"

It seemed as though every time he got comfortable with the idea of Lance knowing his secrets, he found a way to make him regret it again. He kicked sand at the offender in response, turning away from him to face out towards the water.

Lance groaned. "Can't you take a joke? Whatever. Just do your loner thing out here I guess." Swimming back towards the shore, he scolded himself again for failing to keep his mouth shut. No wonder Keith didn't trust him to keep a secret.

Now alone on the sandbar, Keith closed his eyes and let himself relax. The sunlight bathed him in a soothing blanket of warmth. He focused on the sound of the waves to tune out his minds constant whirring of frustration towards Lance, and himself. Keeping things inside had always worked for him in the past. Telling anyone about his sexual orientation was the _last_ think he'd ever planned on doing out here in space, let alone to Lance of all people. He figured the red paladin would tease him about it like he did with everything else and they'd continue being frenemies. Or _whatever_ they were.

Suddenly, he felt a presence beside him. Soft fur tickled his bare skin as Wolf leaned into him, almost knocking him over. His mouth formed a soft little grin as he reached out to pet his loyal friend. Wolf couldn't say it, but he felt like maybe the canine had sensed his minor distress. The beast licked his face and continued to nudge him, drawing a laugh out of the somber boy.

"Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. Let's go find something to play fetch with."

In response, wolf teleported them both back to the shore. Keith watched as he sniffed the ground and sifted through the sand until he'd unearthed a large shell. It resembled half a clam and would be easy to throw like a disc. He took the shell from the beast's mouth, patting him on the head.

"Good boy. Ready?" Keith launched the shell as far he could across the shoreline and watched with a smile as Wolf went to retrieve it. Although it took a bit of work, he'd gotten the canine to abandon his teleportation powers when they played fetch. There was something satisfying about it. It was a game between man and beast that was the same across the universe.

Cold air assaulted his back again. He'd thrown a scowl behind him expecting Lance, but found Hunk instead. The yellow paladin was quick to explain himself.

"Sorry. Pidge said we had to reapply the serum after a while. Apparently since this planet has multiple suns, we're always at risk of being burned."

Softening his expression, Keith muttered a thanks and returned his attention to Wolf.

Hunk didn't leave. "Giving Kosmo a workout, huh?"

Keith sighed. "His name's Wolf."

"Right. Sorry."

Wolf was panting and plopped down for a break. Keith knelt to pat his stomach which the canine greatly appreciated. Hunk fidgeted a bit but didn't make any move to leave, and Keith eventually looked up at him questioningly. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he felt uncomfortable with someone just watching him.

"So uhh," Hunk started, clearly not pleased with the situation. "I don't know what you and Lance were talking about out there, but he asked me to say he's sorry if he offended you. I told him to say it to you himself, but he got all mad and said you just got angrier every time he said anything. Which I totally understand, by the way. But he's being kind of whiny about the whole thing, so if you could just say you forgive him or something, that'd be great."

Keith leaned to the side to peek around Hunk and caught Lance watching the exchange from farther down the beach. When he realized he'd been spotted, he nonchalantly looked away and began poking at Pidge, who reacted with a fist.

Letting a half-smile slip, Keith turned back to Hunk. "I'll talk to him."

The yellow paladin sighed with relief. "Thank you. I was worried I'd have to hear him complain about you all the way back to earth."

Hunk returned to the group and Keith joined Wolf on the sand to rest for a moment. He wasn't sure how long they'd been on the planet without his suits clock, and the multiple suns seem to cast it in eternal daylight. He figured he'd have to rejoin the others soon anyway. He'd gotten kind of hungry, and their food storage was in Allura's lion. He got up and brushed the sand away before starting back to his friends, Wolf in tow.

They'd all started working on sculpting Voltron out of sand, and Keith had to admit he was a little miffed they hadn't asked him to help. He supposed he had himself to blame. Over the years he'd developed a knack for radiating "leave me alone" vibes. Sometimes it was hard to turn it off. Lance didn't look when he approached, so the black paladin grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of earshot.

As soon as they were alone, Lance's big mouth did its thing.

"Sorry about teasing you earlier. I guess I should have been more considerate. I mean, I'm guessing I'm the first person you've come out to since we've been in space? I shouldn't have made jokes about it."

Lance's genuine apology made Keith feel a little stupid about the whole situation. He'd blamed the other boy for his immaturity, but maybe _he_ was being a little too sensitive.

"It's alright."

Apparently, his short answer hadn't eased Lance's nerves. "You probably regret telling me. I can just pretend it never happened, if you really want."

Keith shook his head. "No, I think I'm glad you know. I wouldn't say I'd been dying to get it off my chest, but I guess it's cool that we have something in common. Partially, anyway."

That brought Lance's smile back. He cast a glance towards the rest of their team. "So am I the only one? You've never told Shiro?"

With a scoff, Keith turned to face the others too. "Are you kidding me? I could never admit that to him. I always worried back at the garrison that it would make things awkward between us. After all this time, now it just feels like I've been lying to him."

Lance shrugged. "I doubt it would change anything." Then, his eyes lit up. He placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "I have an idea."

His expression unsettled the black paladin. "What?"

"You're going to say no."

"Just tell me."

Instead, Lance grabbed his arm, pulling him back towards their friends. They stopped in front of Shiro, who looked slightly startled seeing the two of them together. Or maybe it was the fire in Lance's eyes.

"Keith is kinda bummed we started making Voltron without him, so I decided me and him would sculpt something else. You wanna be our model?"

He half expected Keith to slap him and storm away, but instead he heard the other boy stifling a chuckle beside him. The older man in front of them just smiled, happy to see the pair deciding to work together on something.

"Sure. Where do you want me?"

Lance lead them both to the other side of the half-finished Voltron. "Here's good." A sly smirk danced across his lips. "Lay on your side like a swimsuit model."

"Alright." Shiro obliged, oblivious to their barely contained giggles.

Nudging Lance's shoulder, Keith leaned in to whisper, fighting back a childish grin. "I hate you."

"You love it."

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 **Reviews, follows, and favorites are always appreciated! Next chapter (hopefully) coming soon :)**


	3. Rumors

Although sleeping on the beach sounded like some sort of tropical fantasy, it would also have been _painful_. Pidge had concluded that long exposure to the planet's suns would likely result in unsightly burns for all of them, Alteans included. It wasn't the first time they'd slept in their lions. Romelle had joined Allura in the blue lion, and Coran elected to stay with Hunk. Wolf had of course slept with Keith, and Shiro had ended up with Pidge in the green lion. Keith figured it was because the girl was eager to finally see her parents again, and Shiro had lots of stories to share about her dad. He had such an innate need to comfort people. It was admirable.

Keith wasn't sure how long he had actually slept. The planet never had a "night time" due to its multiple suns, but it did occasionally have a "sunset" period where all of its suns dipped just below the horizon. Exiting his lion, Keith found he'd awoken just in time to see it for himself. The pretty pink and orange colors that usually followed a descending sun were now on the horizon in every direction. Taking in the scene, he _really_ noticed the lack of any life on the planet, as the only sound was the light splash of the tide. Wolf plodded out next to him and went to get a drink. Keith followed suit.

He heard someone else exit their lion and their footsteps approaching him softly. The person sounded like they were trying to be quiet, and Keith could only think of one person who would try to sneak up on him.

"Boo!"

He sighed. Some things never change. "Morning, Lance."

"Aw, come on. Do you have super hearing or something?"

"No. You just aren't stealthy. At all."

"I don't have to be. My good looks usually disarm most of my opponents anyway. Then I bring em down." A finger gun intruded into Keith's line of sight. "Bang."

"Wow. I don't even know how to respond to that."

"Speechless as expected."

Keith just snorted and the other boy joined him for a drink. Normally, Keith would have found Lance's loud slurping obnoxious, but their tranquil surroundings made it hard to be agitated. He had to enjoy it while it lasted. He doubted they'd find another stop like this on the long journey home. Keith made himself comfortable on the shore, letting the water come up to his toes as he returned his attention to the sky. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd been able to relax like this. Even before the whole Voltron thing, he hadn't been the type to just kick back and enjoy life. Maybe when this was all over, and they finally got back to Earth, he'd be able to catch up on all the downtime he'd missed. Especially with all the friends he had now.

As Lance settled down beside him, he didn't feel the need to scooch away and put more space between them. Being close with other people had been difficult for as long as he could remember. Apparently, being in space lightyears from Earth was what it took for that to change. Shiro had always been able to slip through his walls, but little by little the rest of team Voltron was breaking them down too. Even Lance.

 _Especially Lance._

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

 _Oh boy._ Keith prepared to take back everything he'd just been thinking.

"What?" His disdain was plainly audible in his reply.

"Geez. Don't sound so excited! It's nothing bad. It's about the garrison."

"You and I were not rivals."

"Ok, _First of all_ , yes we were! Second, would you quit assuming you know what I'm going to say and just let me talk?"

It was far too easy to get a rise out of his fellow paladin. Keith put away his snarky comments for the moment. Lance cleared his throat.

"I was just wondering about that James Griffin kid."

The mere mention of the name caused Keith to stiffen up.

It had been a long time since he'd given any thought to his old…enemy. The two hadn't been on good terms since the day they met. James was a typical bully. They come in all shapes and sizes, and they all love picking on people just for the fun of it. Keith couldn't deny the truth; he was an easy target for people like that. When you don't really have any friends, you've got no one to back you up. It's just another weakness for them to prey on. Keith hated feeling weak, and he'd hated James.

The taunting had been relentless, and there was plenty of ammunition to use against him. _No parents, pity case, suck up, emo._ The list went on and on. Keith knew James had been jealous of his connection with Shiro, and he wasn't the only one. Anybody would be jealous of someone who got to hang out with one of their role models. James saw Keith as inferior, and couldn't figure out what Shiro saw in him. It turned what could have been just petty jealousy into bitter anger. Some of the staff took issue with it too. It was a genuine bond for the two of them, but to outsiders it probably looked like he was playing favorites. Despite Shiro's efforts to help, their association probably only made things worse.

Unsurprisingly, James had mocked him for his sexuality too. Keith hadn't been open with it back then, but it didn't matter. _Gay_ was just another insult in James' repertoire. " _You're jealous of Adam, aren't you?_ " He used to say. " _You want the great Takashi Shirogane all to yourself_." Taunts like that had sparked one of their many fights. Griffin had always known all the right buttons to push. All Keith could wonder was what he ever did to make his classmate hate him so much. As he grew up, he eventually learned not to care what anyone else thought, especially James Griffin. Unfortunately, this wound up making him even more of an introvert. It was hard to say he wasn't lonely. Shiro didn't always have time for him, so he cherished every second they had together. Their evening rides on the hoverbikes was always the highlight of his day.

 _Until he left._

Realizing he still hadn't responded, Keith feigned indifference and scoffed. "What about him?"

"You guys hated each other, right?"

"I'd say so."

The icy glare Keith was sending off in the distance scared Lance a little, but he felt this was important, clearing his throat again.

"Well, after you dropped out, there was this rumor going around that he ran into you on a trip off the base, and that you attacked him with a knife or something." He could _feel_ the tension in the air break as Keith was about to aggressively deny the accusation. He held his hands up in defense. "I know it's not true! I don't know who started the rumor, but Griffin himself said it wasn't true. I saw him around sometimes. We didn't hang out a lot, but he did tell me something else about you."

Keith sighed. He wasn't necessarily surprised to hear Griffin talked bad about him after he dropped out. He wouldn't be shocked to find out that he was _still_ doing it now.

"What did he say?"

"Don't get mad."

" _Lance."_

"I know, I know. Stop beating around the bush." He took a breath and braced himself. "We were alone in the hall outside Iverson's office. Sanada was in there bitching up a storm and we were both waiting to talk to him. Griffin asked me if I remembered you, which of course I did. My arch nemesis, my mortal enemy, the maniacal mullet menace, Keith Kogane! How could I forget?" Lance gave his classic smile, and Keith appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood. "Anyway, he went on about how you were _weird_ and _scary_ and he was glad you were finally gone. Which, in case you were wondering, I didn't agree with. I asked him if he knew what happened to you and he said he figured you were dead."

This was more puzzling than anything. Did Griffin think he wouldn't have been able to survive on his own? That was a massive underestimation on his part. You think you'd give more credit to someone who'd bested you on multiple occasions.

However, Lance wasn't finished. "I asked what he meant by that, and he said that you probably killed yourself because Shiro was gone and you had no one left. I told him I didn't think you would do that, since even back then I knew you were too stubborn to just give up. But he said that he remembered walking in on you in the bathroom with a knife."

Keith's body went rigid. He knew what was coming next.

"You know….like…cutting yourself."

The silence that followed was enormously uncomfortable for both of them. Lance wanted to apologize fifty times and burry himself in the sand. The silence probably would have gone on a lot longer had Keith not decided that he wasn't afraid to open up anymore. He squeezed sand against his palms just to have something to hold onto. The warmth in his hands was comforting.

"Yeah, that did happen once." Keith's voice shocked the other boy who half expected him to teleport away with Kosmo. "I was only thirteen and wasn't very good at dealing with… _anything_. I'm still getting the hang of it now to be honest." The memory caused him to pause. That was a dark time in his life, but it was behind him now. He was too proud for a pity party. "But it was only a couple of times. I was young and stupid and thought it would somehow make me feel better. It didn't. Haven't done it since."

A ridiculous amount of relief washed over Lance. He felt the urge to comfort his friend, but wasn't really sure how. Aside from yesterday, he'd never heard Keith speak so openly and honestly before. It was definitely a good change, but it was still very new to him. He hoped he was going about things the right way. Sometimes he wished he'd taken some psych classes.

He decided honesty was his best bet. If Keith was baring his feelings, so could he.

"I'm glad to hear that. I only asked because that story's been gnawing at me ever since we first got to space, like five _thousand_ years ago. I didn't think you were still doing it. It just made me kind of sad, picturing you like that."

Keith was surprised at Lance's concern. "Yeah, I kind of scared myself with it at the time. Him catching me didn't help. I was just really alone, I guess."

Mentally patting himself on the back for seemingly saying the right thing, Lance took a chance and lightly nudged Keith with his shoulder. "I'm always here to listen, you know. If you ever feel like that again."

Their eyes met, Keith matching Lance's smile. "Thanks. But I haven't felt alone in a long time."

The moment was getting a little too sweet, and Lance's smile shifted from caring to mischievous.

"You know, I bet he just picked on you so much because he had a massive crush on you."

Keith tried not to laugh. It didn't work.

Once again, Hunk had taken it upon himself to whip up a culinary masterpiece for the whole team. How he managed to work with the rations they had left and make something so delicious was one of the many mysteries of the cosmos. He'd even found time to make something for Wolf. After tossing the canine his meal and getting a plate for himself, Keith joined the rest of Team Voltron at the table.

"No I swear, my brother used to be really dorky back on Earth. Space has totally changed him."

"I think I remember…mmm oh Hunk you've _really_ outdone yourself this time." The princess finished chewing before continuing, the yellow paladin beaming at her compliment. "I think I remember that picture of you both in front of a rocket. It seems as though you adopted his look in his absence."

Pidge chuckled. "I guess I kind of did." She adjusted her glasses, silently recalling the moment he gave them to her.

"You two are so much alike." Shiro chimed in. "When I woke up back on Earth, I was so disoriented that I almost thought you were him."

"Did he ever talk about me at the garrison?"

" _Oh yeah_. He was always telling stories about his smart little sis. Your dad too."

"Sounds about right." Pidge suddenly had an evil look on her face. "Matt talked _a lot_ about you at home."

Shiro seemed genuinely shocked. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. He'd gush about you all through dinner." She put on a mock high-pitched voice. " _Takashi Shirogane is sooooo incredible. I'm so glad I'll get to go on missions with him soon. He's one of the best pilots at the garrison. And he's real handsome too!"_ She finished with a dramatic swoon, and everyone burst into giggles. Shiro's face went red, clearly unsure how to process that information.

Lance clapped the older man on the back. "Come on, Shiro. Don't tell me you aren't used to the attention."

He coughed uncomfortably. "I'm sure Pidge was just exaggerating."

The green paladin shook her head. "You guys better not tell him I said that. It stays on this planet."

As the others continued to laugh and chat around him, Keith felt all fuzzy inside. Even though they were galaxies away from home, they still had a sense of community among each other. Despite the danger, he was glad Voltron had brought them all together.


End file.
